Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

OK GUYS, no more speculation. it works. I did it. all in all the hardest part was resetting the dash light. i will show how i did it step by step for informational purposes only. Do anything at everything at your own risk please.

**********this is not something everyone should do in their spare time******************
If you are not comfortable with electronics you should never mess with any of these components
Airbags can be very dangerous. And you can always get a professional to wire it for you
once again i hold no liability for anyone hurting themselves, i am simply saying what i have done so others that would have attempted it anyways have the information available to them (unlike me when i did it)

Note that you should never solder any wires when attached to the airbag. while i thought this would be common sense i am clearly stating it here. solder all connectors unattached. seriously


teaser pic.. notice no dash light (no i did not remove the bulb)

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

I started off by removing the plastic cover on the back of the bag


I then cut off the connector very carefully one at a time
electrical taping the side connected to the original bag one at a time
you should end up with this


This is the part I bought (Lexus clockspring for 02 gs300: $20 on ebay)


I Wouldn't mess around with electrical tape on an airbag
I used a soldering iron


**Always disconnect wires when soldering them, especially from the bag**
This is the original connector soldered to the new clockspring.
The wire above is the ground for the cruise control i decided to solder as well

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

Heatshrink the bare connections FTW!!


The I plugged it in and taped the wirs down secure.
I ended up having to move the wire orientation to fit the yellow connector in a safe spot. then i tied it excess wire with tape. keep wires away from screw holes and use common sense.


Make sure the battery terminals have been disconnected for a long time (at least 10 minutes)
plugged it into the wheel (after swapping the old cruise control unit onto new wheel)


***edit***
after I was sure everything was secure and fully reinstalled, I reattached the battery, with no one in the car!!! (so far so good).
Then... I actually turned the ignition to on for the first time from the passenger seat where I thought I would be safest in the case of a deployment (from human error).
Obviously It did not deploy, and everything was just fine, but no reason not to take extra precaution though.

reset the airbag light (most difficult part by far)
viola! I am now enjoying my light free dash and functional airbag



*Note that this is running a dual stage airbag in single deployment mode*
This would be equivalent to a low speed collision or if a person of average or below weight were to be sitting in the seat. this works perfect for me but may not work perfect for you. It may be possible to run both stages in parrallel, however i rather my airbag only deploy in single mode. as to wether the light will be on if run in parallel, i cannot say for sure, but i would like to think there would be no light as well.

another thing to note is that if you dont want to deal with the worst part of resetting your airbag light, simply do not put the key in the ignition during any period where there is no airbag attached.
I really wish i knew that before i started.

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

One thing ive noticed is that when i turn the car on, the airbag light stays on for like 3 seconds, and then goes away. I cannot remember if it used to do that before but it always goes away. doesn't really bother me though.

LEX SC4UCE

so let me get this straight...it only deploys if you are in a minor low speed accident but it will not deploy if you are in a MAJOR high speed accident?

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

no, that is very incorrect.

it deploys whenever your airbag would normally deploy.
low speed, high speed, it doesnt matter.

it will always deploy only the first stage which is 50-75% off the full force of an airbag. (because i only connected the first stage)

this is what happens in an actual 2 stage car when its in a low speed impact.
The ECU will use its sensors to decide whether it deploys stage 1 or stage 1&2
Since our ECU cannot make this decision, it will deploy whatever is attatched to it.

if it bothers you it can be connected to deploy at 100% all the time, but these airbags were invented to prevent unnecessary full force deployment in the first place.

I thought more people would be happy about using newer airbags in their car as opossed to using overly priced rx300 airbags that are older and hard to get. I am very pleased at the results and i picked up my new airbag for just 200 bucks.

FormosaSC

i think you should write a disclaimer... this is not something everyone should do on their spare time. I just bought a rx300 single stage airbag, it looks perfect and i just feel safer installing it with a lexus oem adaptor plug then diying it. I would diy anything but the airbag lol, but none the less this is very cool

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

thanks 1sicksc, i put one at the top.

all in all i would have not attempted it if it was unsafe.
cutting the connector off the old airbag is the only time when you are doing anything remotely unsafe. and im pretty sure you have to do that with the rx300 bag unless you find that hard to get connector harness.

soldering wires together unnatatched to anything never hurt anybody.
plugging it into the new bag did not appear to be dangerous.

anywho, i knew it could be done, and i did it. not for the faint of heart.
enjoy

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

sorry from bringing up from the dead but I added some info due to receiving some questions. Once again I am not responsible for anything anyone does with the information provided.

spdrcr771

iTrader: (21)

resetting the light was, disconnecting the battery, right.

oneuzfour

BUMP!! how do you reset the airbag light in dash?

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

no you cant reset the airbag light by resetting the battery. lol, they make it difficult.

I forget which 2 wires but you connect 2 long wires in the diagnostic port in the engine bay, run them over by the door, and while the key is in and the airbag light is on, you have to alternate touching each wire to ground in 1 second intervals until it starts blinking really fast. if you are lucky it will reset. repeat until you finally get it.
I like to use one of the large bolts for the door hinge as a ground to touch the wires to, cause you can see the light clearly from there.

oneuzfour

Got it, TC_AB_TC_AB and hold TC.